Global Statistics Test
BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager (GTM) is a global server load balancing solution that directs traffic to the most optimal resources based on various factors such as availability, performance, and proximity. GTM distributes DNS and user application requests based on business policies, data center and cloud service conditions, user location, and application performance. BIG-IP GTM delivers high-performance DNS Services with visibility, reporting, and analysis; hyper-scales and secures DNS responses geographically to survive DDoS attacks; delivers a complete, real-time DNSSEC solution and ensures global application high availability in all hybrid environments.
Wide IP (WIP) resolution in BIG-IP GTM involves determining the appropriate IP address to be returned in the DNS response for a given DNS query. The resolution process considers the requested domain name, record type, and optional attributes associated with the WIP.
The Global Statistics test monitors the Wide IP requests and reports the number of requests that have been transmitted/received through the target BIG-IP GTM. This helps the administrator to find out if there had been requests that were dropped during transmission/reception.
Target of the test: BIG-IP GTM
Agent deploying the test: An external agent
Outputs of the test: One set of results for the target BIG-IP GTM that is being monitored.
Parameter |
Description |
---|---|
Test period |
How often should the test be executed. |
Host |
The IP address of the target host to be monitored. |
SNMPPort |
The port at which the monitored target exposes its SNMP MIB; the default value is 161. |
Data Over TCP |
By default, in an IT environment, all data transmission occurs over UDP. Some environments however, may be specifically configured to offload a fraction of the data traffic – for instance, certain types of data traffic or traffic pertaining to specific components – to other protocols like TCP, so as to prevent UDP overloads. In such environments, you can instruct the eG agent to conduct the SNMP data traffic related to the monitored target over TCP (and not UDP). For this, set this flag to Yes. By default, this flag is set to No. |
Timeout |
Specify the duration (in seconds) within which the SNMP query executed by this test should time out in this text box. The default is 10 seconds. |
SNMPVersion |
By default, the eG agent supports SNMP version 1. Accordingly, the default selection in the SNMPversion list is v1. However, if a different SNMP framework is in use in your environment, say SNMP v2 or v3, then select the corresponding option from this list. |
SNMPCommunity |
The SNMP community name that the test uses to communicate with the switch. This parameter is specific to SNMP v1 and v2 only. Therefore, if the SNMPVersion chosen is v3, then this parameter will not appear. |
Context |
This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVERSION. An SNMP context is a collection of management information accessible by an SNMP entity. An item of management information may exist in more than one context and an SNMP entity potentially has access to many contexts. A context is identified by the SNMPEngineID value of the entity hosting the management information (also called a contextEngineID) and a context name that identifies the specific context (also called a contextName). If the USERNAME provided is associated with a context name, then the eG agent will be able to poll the MIB and collect metrics only if it is configured with the context name as well. In such cases therefore, specify the context name of the USERNAME in the CONTEXT text box. By default, this parameter is set to none. |
Username |
This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVERSION. SNMP version 3 (SNMPv3) is an extensible SNMP Framework which supplements the SNMPv2 Framework, by additionally supporting message security, access control, and remote SNMP configuration capabilities. To extract performance statistics from the MIB using the highly secure SNMP v3 protocol, the eG agent has to be configured with the required access privileges - in other words, the eG agent should connect to the MIB using the credentials of a user with access permissions to be MIB. Therefore, specify the name of such a user against this parameter. |
AuthPass |
Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned Username. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPversion selected is v3. |
Confirm Password |
Confirm the AuthPass by retyping it here. |
AuthType |
This parameter too appears only if v3 is selected as the SNMPversion. From the AuthType list box, choose the authentication algorithm using which SNMP v3 converts the specified username and password into a 32-bit format to ensure security of SNMP transactions. You can choose between the following options:
|
EncryptFlag |
This flag appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVersion. By default, the eG agent does not encrypt SNMP requests. Accordingly, this flag is set to No by default. To ensure that SNMP requests sent by the eG agent are encrypted, select the Yes option. |
EncryptType |
If the EncryptFlag is set to Yes, then you will have to mention the encryption type by selecting an option from the EncryptType list. SNMP v3 supports the following encryption types:
|
EncryptPassword |
Specify the encryption password here. |
Confirm Password |
Confirm the encryption password by retyping it here. |
EngineID |
This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVersion. Sometimes, the test may not report metrics when AES192 or AES256 is chosen as the Encryption type. To ensure that the test report metrics consistently, administrators need to set this flag to Yes. By default, this parameter is set to No. |
Measurement |
Description |
Measurement Unit |
Interpretation |
---|---|---|---|
WIP request |
Indicates the total number of requests for wide IPs in the target BIG-IP GTM during the last measurement period. |
Number |
|
WIP resolution |
Indicates the total number of resolutions for wide IPs in the target BIG-IP GTM during the last measurement period. |
Number |
|
WIP persisted request |
Indicates the number of persisted requests for wide IPs in the target BIG-IP GTM during the last measurement period. |
Number |
|
Data received |
Indicates the total number of bytes received by the system in the target BIG-IP GTM during the last measurement period. |
MB/sec |
Compare the value of this measure across the servers to know which server is receiving maximum data. |
Data transmitted |
Indicates the total number of bytes sent out by the target BIG-IP GTM during the last measurement period. |
MB/sec |
Compare the value of this measure across the servers to know which server is transmitting maximum data. |
Data dropped |
Indicates the total number of bytes dropped due to backlog/connection disruption in the target BIG-IP GTM during the last measurement period. |
Number |
Ideally, the value of this measure should be zero. |
Resolve returned to DNS |
Indicates the number of times client requests had been directed to the appropriate resources without the intervention of the target BIG-IP GTM during the last measurement period. |
Number |
|
Type-A request |
Indicates the number of ‘A’ requests for wide IPs in the target BIG-IP GTM during the last measurement period. |
Number |
‘A' records are used for DNS resolution of IPv4 addresses. When configuring a Wide IP, you can associate one or more ‘A’ records with it. Each ‘A’ record maps the domain name to an IPv4 address of a member. These members typically represent IPv4-enabled resources, such as servers or load balancers. |
Type-AAAA request |
Indicates the number of ‘AAAA’ requests for wide IPs in the target BIG-IP GTM during the last measurement period. |
Number |
‘AAAA’ records, also known as IPv6 records, are used for DNS resolution of IPv6 addresses. Similarly, you can associate one or more ‘AAAA’ records with a Wide IP in F5 GTM. Each ‘AAAA’ record maps the domain name to an IPv6 address of a member. These members represent IPv6-enabled resources. |